This new bard play style blows.

[Wavaryen]

It depends on the design of the job if it is an actual design flaw. What do you perceive the Bard job to be? Primarily DPS or Primarily Support?

In all honesty, I perceive Bard and Mechanist primarily Support jobs with DPS mixed in. With that viewpoint, I can see the design being just fine. However, looking at it as a primary DPS, it would be a design flaw.

I can see your point, but I feel that the tool kit we have as a support job is not enough. We lack options outside of raiding, and if it really is primarily support. We need songs that support such mindset. Songs that can make melee stronger, songs that can give resist with the toughest of fights. Choices to be made with our mana. Would that not be a better support than what we have now?

[DreameR7g]

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Well you have options outside of raiding. They are just specific. TP song for those like me: Melee DPS. That actually can be a huge help. Mage Ballad is self explanatory and Foe's Requiem is also self explanatory.

While the options you've listed would make you a better support, it isn't all that you do, of course. Being a Support/DPS in the manner I perceive explains why Bard has what they have pretty well, I believe. It's also why I believe Bard was listed under DPS: To have a Support hybrid, while still labeled under the holy trinity of Tank, DPS and Healer so it won't be so wildly avoided as a job labeled "Support" is. Heavensward's addition to your support firepower also supports my theory with Wanderer's Minuet being a good example, giving you a stance so you can have focus fire power to strengthen your pure DPS at the cost of mobility/support capabilities.

[Wavaryen]

snip

Ya, but outside of raiding I hardly ever need to use the tp song, I even ask do they need it. Nope.

and I guess I am strange, as a BLM was like..wow you really use foe? He was happy until he pulled aggro lol.

Even MP song outside of raiding hardly gets used. I don't feel like a support dps during that time I am not raiding
. I feel like a gimp mage.

[DreameR7g]

Ya, but outside of raiding I hardly ever need to use the tp song, I even ask do they need it. Nope.

and I guess I am strange, as a BLM was like..wow you really use foe? He was happy until he pulled aggro lol.

Even MP song I outside of raiding hardly gets used. I don't feel like a support dps during that time. I feel like a gimp mage.

Which I fully understand. You are actually a hybrid so from a design standpoint, you may feel weak when you don't get to use all of your abilities. That doesn't mean you are actually weak since you are capable of answering most predicaments which plague a party.

[Wavaryen]

Which I fully understand. You are actually a hybrid so from a design standpoint, you may feel weak when you don't get to use all of your abilities. That doesn't mean you are actually weak since you are capable of answering most predicaments which plague a party.

That leads to the question, if I hardly get to use that support in that content, should the class be punished with less dps because of it? As in that group, you are not invited for your support, as it is not needed. You are taking a slot for that dps.

I hope I am makaing sense. I have been up way to long due to rl pain. So my thoughts are kinda all over the place.

[DreameR7g]

Snip

If you are hardly able to use the support capable of your class, SE needs to design situations where your supporting capabilities (along with your DPS) are better needed. At the moment, Heavensward was just released about 3-4 weeks ago if I'm not mistaken. Naturally, some jobs will have some identity crises due to the expansion of abilities, some buffed and some nerfed. Sadly, Bard is just one of those jobs because they are a hybrid design from 2.0. I would say hang in there, learn your rotations with the new abilities. After all, some of their newer abilities like Wanderer's Minuet and the bursty arrows vert recently got buffed so increase your DPS.

[Orbiaus]

A DPS should be a DPS. It fills a dmg spot and should be used as such. Having a mix just leaves a class not knowing what it is and leaves the group lacking in dps. It should be one or the other. I'm not even sure why MCH is support because bard has more buffs so wouldn't taking a BRD be more useful than MCH if people do want the support features?

[DreameR7g]

Snip

Bard and Machinist are from the same mold. Neither should be a better pick than the other. The difference between the two *SHOULD* be play style, to give some of the player base an alternative Support DPS other than Bard. I digress as I find the concept of guns more appealing than arrows. Hehe. And while I agree, a pure DPS should fill a DPS slot, at the moment, there are only 3 job roles at the present moment: Tank, Healer and DPS. Maybe if and when they implement a Hybrid role slot will Bard and Machinist be moved. I can only speculate at this point.